To be clear, I also agree there should be a separation of church and state, mainly because I don't want the state to have anything to do with how I practice my faith, which is the clear intent of the first amendment.

Using the state to dictate how, where and when someone practices their faith is nowhere to be found in that document.

You're going off the rails here. The state is prohibited from endorsing any religion. That's a statement of fact. All else is irrelevant to what i'm saying.